CNBC's Cloning Failure

CNBC is having a little trouble getting its new digital network off the ground and on the air. CNBC2 was slated to launch Jan. 1 and, indeed, if you were a Time Warner Cable digital subscriber, you did start getting a channel marked CNBC2. But it was merely the same feed as CNBC's main channel, not the Euro- and Asia-heavy news channel that CNBC and Time Warner had touted. That annoyed subscribers who wanted more for their money, not the same thing they got on basic cable. So, after getting complaints from around the country, Time Warner yanked the channel last Wednesday, replacing it with C-SPAN3. CNBC execs haven't quite figured out how to complement the core network's programming during its prime time, which is daytime. Network execs are still looking to launch CNBC2 sometime this year. What's not clear is exactly when CNBC informed Time Warner-before or after the subscriber complaints came in.